Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter Is Dead

Despite my several month absence fromt the borderlands it seems that things continue to be totally crazy. And all this time I thought it was just me.

Anywho, here's your border round-up:

- 33 people found dead in a mass grave in Ciudad Juarez. In a surprise twist that no one saw coming, the drug cartels are suspected to have some level of involvement.

- Both Colorado and Arizona are considering Bracero style state sponsored programs that would help to bring migrant workers from Mexico for agricultural work. Where do I even start? Arizona and Colorado are two states, perhaps THE two states at the forefront of anti-immigrant legislation. These places are just tremendously hostile, in comparison to the rest of the nation, to having "undocumented" workers living there. And neither of these states used to have shortages in the way that we are seeing now. Incomprehensibly, rather than loosening or eradicating some of the insane policies that have driven workers from the state, they are instead choosing to institute their own immigration laws to entice workers from Mexico. And not surprisingly, the programs are having a hard time getting off of the ground. I won't even get into the economics of paying people more to do farmwork and therefore making the risks associated more palatable...

- Michael Chertoff has come publicly accepted that the virtual fence is not on schedule, doesn't work, and might never be completed. I am, in all honesty, quite shocked. Not that it doesn't work, that was never in any doubt. What surprises me so much is that the system was clearly doomed from the start, they (cynically) threw money at it for years, and continued to claim until very recently that it was hugely successful. It is just stunning that the DHS has accepted any level of defeat here. Still, it's great news.

- On a final, and more personal note, I found out recently that a good friend of mine from the drug and alcohol treatment center died from an overdose. He had been doing very well. His death is just one more testament to the high price that Mexico has paid because of the drug trade. His humor, care, and leadership will be sorely missed.

Update: Oops. Forgot the music.

I have been spinning Built to Spill- Randy Described Eternity like it's my job. This is only a 30-sec clip. Sorry, it's the best I could do. There are a few decent quality videos on youtube if it peaks your interest.

RIYL- Older Modest Mouse, A harder Death Cab for Cutie, Prog-rockish guitar jamming.